Piggy-backing a street culture is risky for a manufacturer. Like a middle-aged man going to a nightclub, there is a great danger of toe-curling embarrassment. But Triumph has a unique streak of rebellion on its side, mostly by association with such deeply cool and credible film icons as Steve McQueen and Marlon Brando.

Playing Virgil Hilts in The Great Escape, McQueen made his disastrous leap for freedom on a Triumph (doubly incongruous, as it was a 1961 TR6 supposedly stolen from a German soldier), while Wild One Brando smouldered behind the bars of a Triumph Thunderbird.

The Hinckley factory itself has something of a reputation for non-conformity, as in the mid-1990s it famously defied the industry's ludicrous self-imposed 125bhp limit with its 148bhp Daytona 1200, and owner John Bloor does things very much his own way.

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So when, 11 years ago, Triumph created the first factory streetfighter, it had a head start. Streetfighters were - and still are - bikes born of necessity, created by their owners from crashed superbikes whose obscenely expensive spare parts precluded repair to original condition.

Instead, the bodywork is stripped and binned, higher, straight handlebars are fitted, a front light or two is bolted on to a knocked-up subframe and that's about it: pared down high performance, glorying in its own intimidating ugliness.

Triumph's first Speed Triple was similarly born of the three-cylinder 900 Daytona, minus the crash of course, and where most manufacturers tame the engines and use lower-spec suspension on bikes derived from their sporting flagships, so Triumph, in true streetfighter spirit, left everything good just as it was.

Come 1996, strong sales had proved the concept and Triumph gave its new, much more modern, fuel-injected Daytona T595 the Speed Triple streetfighter treatment, including what was to become the bike's defining, bug-eyed, twin-headlamp visage.

As the Daytona itself evolved and improved in subsequent years, so did the Speed Triple, undiluted, rewarding Triumph with strong sales and in some countries something close to a sub-brand status.

Now for 2005 there's an all-new Speed Triple, and it's a bike that reflects a new confidence in Triumph generally, as the company is finally understanding its real strengths and weaknesses and tailoring its range accordingly. Thus the latest model is more raw, more powerful, more daring and more brutally styled than ever.

What's more, reflecting its importance to Triumph, it now stands alone, no longer derived from a superbike. That's not to say a new Daytona using many of the same components won't make its debut next year, but the roles are now reversed and it's the Speed Triple that is leading the way.

Its engine is still shared, though, as makes sense for a small company such as Triumph. The 1,050cc three-pot unit is near-identical to that which first appeared in the excellent Sprint ST (Motoring, Feb 2005) but in the Speed Triple it offers slightly more power at 128bhp and the massive spread of torque that makes the Sprint such a delightful ride is enhanced by lower gearing.

With no bodywork and a more upright riding position, the Speed Triple also wheelies for England, behaviour guaranteed to evoke frowns of disapproval in sensible citizens.

If you can feel your brow furrowing, do understand that a good wheelie takes some considerable skill and machine control, which is a great riding asset; it's also hard to beat as an expression of sheer joie de vivre.

There's a time and a place of course, although the Speed Triple tempts most of the time in most places with its instant and beautifully precise throttle response.

The motor goads with its gravelly growl, too, whether you're asking it to pull from little more than idle (which it does, happily) or you're dipping into the deep sea of torque, where more than 90 per cent of the peak output is available from 3,000rpm to the 9,500rpm red line.

If there is a flaw it's in the gear selection, which is a shame as Triumph has expended a lot of effort in improving this on its latest-generation transmissions.

The identical gearbox in the Sprint ST works perfectly but the Speed Triple rider is connected to the cogs via an additional linkage from the more rear-set footrests, and on some examples I rode (but not all) this seemed to induce some stickiness in the action.

Overall, however, the drivetrain's blend of character and genuine high performance is rare and compelling, and fully supported by a track-capable chassis. The fat 45mm forks are fully adjustable to suit rider and conditions, as is the monoshock rear end, although even after some considerable tweaking I couldn't strike an entirely satisfactory compromise between firmness and harshness.

The cold conditions of the press launch in the south of France could well have affected this, unduly increasing the damping oil's viscosity, and anyway, the compact and wieldy feel of the Speed Triple is a happy ally on snaking back roads.

Likewise, the brakes are sports-bike powerful and as tactile as you'd want, leaving just the generic windblown riding position to hold the Speed Triple back from matching the sustained high-speed comfort that makes superbikes such surprisingly good all-rounders.

The detailing is mostly good, although the mirrors are set too close together and so display more elbow than road behind, while the sidestand is difficult to kick down without knocking the bike into gear.

The fuel tank holds a moderate four gallons, which at the low- to mid-30s mpg that the on-board consumption display was registering means just 140 miles to empty, but most owners will improve on this by more than 10 per cent in regular riding, bringing the range up to an adequate if not good level.

The instruments also display average and maximum speed and journey time, in addition to the more common information.

Naked street bikes will always be held back from usurping full-on sports bikes by their impracticalities. High speed cruising is limited and when a police car switched on its bleux et deux just so we could see the occupants laughing at the ludicrous sight of me carrying a lanky Dutch journalist as a precarious passenger, the bike's restricted two-up ability came into squirming focus.

There's no under-seat storage and those stubby twin silencers interfere with pannier placement, which means the Speed Triple is day-out-only fun. But what captivating, accomplished fun it is.